{"id":13116,"date":"2018-04-25T18:52:43","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T08:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legoeng.local\/?p=13116"},"modified":"2018-04-25T18:54:00","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T08:54:00","slug":"meet-the-creator-pawel-sariel-kmiec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/legoeng.local\/meet-the-creator-pawel-sariel-kmiec\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Creator: Pawe\u0142 “Sariel” Kmie\u0107"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pawe\u0142 “Sariel” Kmie\u0107<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pawe\u0142 “Sariel” Kmie\u0107 lives in Warsaw, Poland. He has designed over 200 LEGO model vehicles including cars, trucks, trains, and ships. His models have been featured on Top Gear, Jalopnik, and Engaget websites, among many others. His LEGO tanks are particularly impressive for their realism and have been praised by military experts and members of tank crews. Sariel is also the author of <\/em>LEGO – Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder’s Guide and <\/em>Incredible LEGO Technic. Sariel has been selected by LEGO as an official reviewer of the LEGO Technic sets.<\/em><\/p>\n

How did you get started building with LEGO bricks?<\/h4>\n

I started playing with LEGO as a kid, going through a number of themes including, Pirates and Castle. However, it was Technic that fascinated me most and left a lasting impact. As I was growing up, my LEGO collection ended up in the attic, but when I was in my twenties, I felt a need to tinker with Technic pieces. Fast forward 10 years and here I am with 200+ custom models built and two books written on the subject.<\/p>\n

Which project (or projects) are you the most proud of? Why?<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Definitely my Tow Truck 2<\/a> which included 17 motors and nearly 20 meters of wire. It was my most technically complex model at the time, and I’m still happy with its looks. Building this model has given me this sort of feeling that I can now build just for fun, without the need to prove myself. Which is why I’m equally happy building models that take years to complete and models that take an evening or two and just test a single concept.<\/p>\n

“I’m equally happy building models that take years to complete and models that take an evening or two and just test a single concept.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Where do you find inspiration for new projects?<\/h4>\n

I’m mostly a vehicles fan – cars, trucks, tanks, you name it – but I also have a thing for aircraft and I’m fond of LEGO trains. Put it all together and I have more ideas than I can possibly handle. My to-do list is long enough to last another 10 years. I’m inspired by real-life objects: a machine I come across while doing some mechanical research, or a car I see on a street. I also like putting my LEGO builds in water, so I’ve built all sorts of floating cranes, fire boats that shoot water, and so on. Basically, I keep building things for myself to play with. It’s fun and it’s how you keep at this hobby for so long.<\/p>\n

How many iterations do you typically go through when you create your projects?<\/h4>\n

Countless iterations, really. I’m always trying to do my best, which sometimes leads to reworking a single part of a model a dozen times. I remember building my Tiger XL tank model – I really, really wanted to get all the angles of its glacis plate right. I ended up reworking just the model’s front end eleven times, but I got a result that I wanted.<\/p>\n

Do you document your creative process? If so, how and why?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Santa’s Sleigh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I mostly document finished models, but over time I’ve developed a habit of sharing my in-progress photos and videos, primarily on my Facebook page. Since I’m always building several models at the same time, it lets people know where things stand on the model they’re most interested in, it gives them some inside look at how these models are made, and it’s also a good lesson for me. There’s plenty of competent people online and they sometimes correct me or give me information I didn’t have. It’s always very interesting to talk to people who operate the machinery you’re building a model of in real life.<\/p>\n

What role does failure have in your creative process?<\/h4>\n

I accept failure as a natural thing. There are a number of possible solutions to each technical problem, so a failure simply tells you that this solution isn’t going to work and you need to try another. Failure is a lesson in itself, too. It’s like Thomas Edison [purportedly] said about making a light bulb: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”<\/p>\n

“A\u00a0failure simply tells you that this solution isn’t going to work and you need to try another”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n